Synopsis
In chapter six, Da comes out of hiding and has to face his enemy Han. For the first time he defends himself, by throwing a chair at Han.
It is also New Year’s Eve, in which spirituality comes into the book. Da’s mother makes sacrifices to Buddha, Kitchen God, Earth God, Rice God, Water God, and all of their dead ancestors. Da talks about how he believed in the power of God, and how his mother prays.
While out and about, Da encounters a young group of gamblers in the fields. These guys soon end up being Da’s closest friends. Da watches the guys gamble, and wrestle when they invite him to join.
In the end they accept Da for who he is, regarding that his grandfather was a landlord who used to be inferior to their ancestors. They treat him as a normal person, not an outcast, and make him feel better about his life.
Da walks home with a bigger smile on his face, knowing that although these boys smoke, drink, and gamble, their friends and that’s all that matters. Themes -change
-friendship
-spirituality
-acceptance Key Quotes
1. “F* your ancestors, you little s*,” Sen said jokingly with a smile…(62)”’
-This quote shows how even though Da’s ancestors were powerful and mean, they put that aside, and accepted him.
2. “They bullied me cockily, not expecting any retaliation. I had never fought back in the past (53).”
-This shows how Da reminisces on what he did wrong in the past, and that maybe if he tried to fight back, he may be stronger than he thinks.
3. “I had always believed in ghosts, and believed in the power of good gods. I prayed like a monk and didn’t mind bending down on my skinny knees to kowtow… (55).”
-This quote gives you a feeling of Da’s religious viewpoints and how even though his brothers and sisters don’t necessarily take the time to kowtow, he does. This also shows how unique and different Da is from all of his siblings. Up until him, no one has ever tried hard enough to live a better life. Symbols
New Years-change, hope, goalsàhow Da can turn his life around Language/Style
When Da describes his mother his language is straight forward
When Da encounters the gamblers the language is slang Tone/Mood
The mood of this chapter relates to Da just trying to be a normal boy, and not a landlord’s descendant. It shows how Da can walk around on New Years, and be treated just the same as everyone else. It also brings out his spiritual side in which he has to kowtow to the Buddha before eating. Narrator POV
The narrator point of view is in present tense but describes what’s happening in a more sophisticated way. Also there are a couple parts where Da uses a past tense form to tell how he felt. Image
Wood chair he throws at Han
Synopsis
In chapter six, Da comes out of hiding and has to face his enemy Han. For the first time he defends himself, by throwing a chair at Han.
It is also New Year’s Eve, in which spirituality comes into the book. Da’s mother makes sacrifices to Buddha, Kitchen God, Earth God, Rice God, Water God, and all of their dead ancestors. Da talks about how he believed in the power of God, and how his mother prays.
While out and about, Da encounters a young group of gamblers in the fields. These guys soon end up being Da’s closest friends. Da watches the guys gamble, and wrestle when they invite him to join.
In the end they accept Da for who he is, regarding that his grandfather was a landlord who used to be inferior to their ancestors. They treat him as a normal person, not an outcast, and make him feel better about his life.
Da walks home with a bigger smile on his face, knowing that although these boys smoke, drink, and gamble, their friends and that’s all that matters.
Themes
-change
-friendship
-spirituality
-acceptance
Key Quotes
1. “F* your ancestors, you little s*,” Sen said jokingly with a smile…(62)”’
-This quote shows how even though Da’s ancestors were powerful and mean, they put that aside, and accepted him.
2. “They bullied me cockily, not expecting any retaliation. I had never fought back in the past (53).”
-This shows how Da reminisces on what he did wrong in the past, and that maybe if he tried to fight back, he may be stronger than he thinks.
3. “I had always believed in ghosts, and believed in the power of good gods. I prayed like a monk and didn’t mind bending down on my skinny knees to kowtow… (55).”
-This quote gives you a feeling of Da’s religious viewpoints and how even though his brothers and sisters don’t necessarily take the time to kowtow, he does. This also shows how unique and different Da is from all of his siblings. Up until him, no one has ever tried hard enough to live a better life.
Symbols
New Years-change, hope, goalsàhow Da can turn his life around
Language/Style
When Da describes his mother his language is straight forward
When Da encounters the gamblers the language is slang
Tone/Mood
The mood of this chapter relates to Da just trying to be a normal boy, and not a landlord’s descendant. It shows how Da can walk around on New Years, and be treated just the same as everyone else. It also brings out his spiritual side in which he has to kowtow to the Buddha before eating.
Narrator POV
The narrator point of view is in present tense but describes what’s happening in a more sophisticated way. Also there are a couple parts where Da uses a past tense form to tell how he felt.
Image
Wood chair he throws at Han
Gambling boys in the fields
Chinese New Year